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Glite Dictionary
👄 A mouth flap 🍄 A thin covering
velum

velum

1 9.9
A soft flap at the back of the mouth that lifts to close the nose when swallowing
  • noun
  • /ˈviːləm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : paladar blando
  • The doctor explained that the velum helps prevent food from entering the nasal cavity during swallowing.

Examples

  • When pronouncing certain sounds, the position of the velum is crucial for clear speech.

  • After the olive was gently inserted into the patient's naris, he closed his velum by holding his breath.

    Academic text (2003)

  • On VNE, VCR measured the maximal velar excursion as a percentage or ratio of the distance from the resting velum to the posterior pharyngeal wall.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Moreover, the levator muscles are arranged in an overlapping, transverse orientation by this procedure; while the transverse orientation is a characteristic of the normal velum, the overlapping of the levators is not.

    Academic text (2015)

  • In speech therapy, patients often work on strengthening the muscles of the velum to improve their pronunciation.

Synonyms

soft palate
vsvelum
  • Specialized
3 5.7

Part at the back of the mouth that lifts to close the nose when you swallow or speak

is the same structure named in a single technical term

Surface Forms

velum singular
velums plural

Etymology

Velum comes from Latin velum meaning 'sail' or 'veil'. Imagine a soft 'veil' at the back of your mouth that lifts to close off the nose when you swallow or speak, and that's why the soft palate is called the velum.